Ole Miss Basketball: Rebels Hoops Top Florida Gators
Ole Miss basketball was coming off a very ugly loss at Auburn. Things looked much better as they hosted the SEC leading Florida Gators in The Pavilion at Oxford.
If there are tough rows to hoe in college basketball then Ole Miss basketball has one of the toughest. Playing in the SEC is never easy and when there is a high level of talent which shows up every game for 18+ games then it can be a gauntlet. Such has been the case for Ole Miss as they faced the Gators in The Pavilion Saturday.
The Rebels previous two SEC wins came over South Carolina and Miss State which can both be considered quality wins. The great thing about them is they were home wins. Of course, the two Rebels losses have come on the very tough SEC road against Georgia and SEC leading No.22 Auburn. Thankfully this Rebels team drew Florida at home.
The Florida Gators (12-5, 4-1) were coming off a 71-54 blowout SEC win over Miss State. The Ole Miss Rebels (10-7, 3-2) were coming off a 85-70 loss to No.22 Auburn. The 78-72 win over the Gators was important for the Rebels who are looking to find some consistency in league play. Ole Miss and Andy Kennedy needed this win. Of course we have to look at the numbers.
Team Numbers
Ole Miss Rebels Basketball
The Rebels picked up the 78-72 win which is the most important number. However lets look at the stat-line and see just how the game flowed. The Rebels shot 25 of 58 from the field or 43.1% while the Gators shot 23 of 61 for 37.7%. When the Rebels shoot well from the field they are hard to beat.
From the charity stripe the Rebels shot much better. The Rebels went for 22 of 26 from the free throw line for 84.6% while the Gators shot 16 of 22 for 72.7%. Shooting well from the foul stripe has been a problem for the Rebels as a team. They looked much better Saturday.
Of course, we all love to see the 3s rain. However, we’d all rather see a win from the Rebels. This Ole Miss basketball team played well in the paint and it contributed to the Rebels win over the Gators,
Being that Ole Miss went into the paint on a regular basis it limited perimeter shooting from the Rebels. The Rebels shot 6 of 18 from beyond the arc for 33.3% while the Gators shot slightly better going 10 of 29 for 34.5%.
Individual Rebels Numbers
The Rebels had three players who scored in double-digits in the contest. Bruce Stevens emerged as the leading score for the Rebels with 22 points. Stevens also had 6 rebounds, an assist and 2 steals in the game. Deandre Burnett added 20 points to go with 2 rebounds and 6 assists. Markel Crawford had 17 points with 4 boards and 1 assist.
Terence Davis added 8 points while gathering 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots. Marcanvis Hymon had 6 points, 9 boards and a steal while Breein Tyree added 3 points. Tyree also had 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 blocked shot and a steal. Dominik Olejniczak who was limited to only 10 minutes added 2 points and 1 rebound.
So far this season we’ve seen an accumulation of various line-ups and game plans from coach Andy Kennedy. This seems to be the one which works the best. The Rebels are heavy loaded with perimeter shooters however this team has to play inside to win in the SEC. We saw the results of what Ole Miss can do in the paint Saturday against the Gators and one can expect to see more of the same from this team going forward.
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Up Next
The Rebels hit the road for the mid-week match-up against the Texas A&M Aggies Tuesday night. The Aggies who started off strong in non-conference play are 0-5 in SEC play. The game from College Station is set to tip-off at 8pm CT and will be televised on the SEC Network. Hotty Toddy!